1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to heat and fire detection and, in particular, to radio-based heat and fire detection pellets.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a fire starts in an unpopulated area, the time to detection is an important factor in the ability of emergency services to get control of the situation. When the fire reaches populated areas, the breadth of a fire-front is related to the resources required to prevent destruction to property, serious injury and loss of life. The destruction of large areas of bush land is also of concern. In some cases this may significantly disrupt the ecosystem and endanger the local wildlife. Early detection systems enable a fast response and thereby reduce the expected impact of a fire.
There are few known solutions to this problem, some of which utilize optical sensors, however optical solutions require line of sight, expensive cameras, and a constant source of power. Such existing products rely on tower-mounted high definition cameras and infrared sensors to detect fires. These systems have a number of drawbacks, which have prevented their widespread adoption. The main problem is cost. The construction of towers which provide vision over large unpopulated areas is expensive. The cameras and infrared sensors are also expensive. There is also the command center which must continually process the video footage to detect events of concern.
Another prior art approach involves a network of smoke detectors. However a smoke detector network would be expensive to set up and requires substantial maintenance.